William C. and Frances P. Ray Slides, B2016.006
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REFERENCE CODE: AkAMH REPOSITORY NAME: Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center Bob and Evangeline Atwood Alaska Resource Center 625 C Street Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-929-9235 Fax: 907-929-9233 Email: [email protected] Guide prepared by: Sara Piasecki, Archivist TITLE: William C. and Frances P. Ray Slides COLLECTION NUMBER: B2016.006 OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION Dates: circa 1944-1993 Extent: 5 boxes; 3.25 linear feet Language and Scripts: The collection is in English. Name of creator(s): William C. Ray, Frances Ray Administrative/Biographical History: Frances E. Ray (née Pickolick) was born on 16 February 1921 in Grangeville, Idaho to Elizabeth and Frank Pickolick. She relocated to Alaska in 1944 and worked at Fort Richardson as a secretary for Bill Ray. They were married on 20 May 1945. Frances went on to teach at Anchorage High School (later West High School) and retired in 1976. Frances also worked for a period of time as the registrar at the Anchorage Community College. She was an avid volunteer in her later years at the Anchorage Museum and the Anchorage Convention and Visitor Bureau. She passed away on 17 August 2005.1 William “Bill” C. Ray was born in Gough, Texas on 3 November 1916 to Nason and Fern Cornelius Ray. Bill moved to Alaska in 1939, and served as a civilian employee in the Depot Supply at Fort Richardson during World War II.2 He joined the U.S. Air Force Civil Service, and worked as a property administrator for the White Alice project from its beginning until his 1 “Frances Ray Obituary.” Anchorage Daily News, Thursday 25 August 2005. 2 Pioneers of Alaska, Igloo 15, Auxiliary 4, Fond Memories of Anchorage Pioneers, Vol 1 (Anchorage, AK: 1996), 185. retirement in 1973. According to his obituary, he was an avid photographer and enjoyed collecting photographic slides of Alaska. He passed away on 3 April 1994.3 Both Frances and Bill were proud to live in Alaska, and enjoyed traveling to the “Lower 48” and abroad as often as possible.4 Scope and Content Description: The collection consists of 2915 35mm slides taken by Bill and Frances Ray during their travels through Alaska and Western Canada from the 1940s through the 1990s, as well as photographs taken by Bill during his work on White Alice radar sites in the 1950s and 1960s. The series begins with 93 numbered and captioned slides, presumably selected by Bill Ray for a slideshow. For more information, see Detailed Description of Collection. Arrangement: Arranged by location or subject, then chronologically when date is present. Alaska Highway trip images ordered by milepost, when known. CONDITIONS GOVERNING ACCESS AND USE Restrictions on Access: The collection is open for research use. Physical Access: Original items in good condition. Technical Access: No special equipment is needed to access the materials. A light box may be used to view transparencies. Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use: The Anchorage Museum is the owner of the materials and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Anchorage Museum before any reproduction use. The Anchorage Museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners. Preferred Citation: William C. and Frances P. Ray Slides, Anchorage Museum, B2016.006 ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Acquisition and Appraisal Information Found in collection in 2015. Likely donated to the Museum by volunteer Frances Ray prior to her death in 2005. 3 “William C. Ray Obituary.” Anchorage Daily News, Tuesday 5 April 1994. 4 Pioneers of Alaska, Fond Memories, 185. Processing Note Collection comprised of three boxes of slides erroneously labeled as B2001.021, added to 13 boxes from the backlog, identified as Ray by subject coverage and handwriting matches. Location and date information taken from accompanying box sheets. Information retained unless known to be wrong at time of numbering. Additional information on location added when available. Original box sheets discarded. RELATED MATERIALS Frances and William C. Ray Collection, B1990.002 Bill Ray White Alice Collection, B1994.009 SUBJECTS Ray, Frances P., 1921-2005 Ray, William C., 1916-1994 Alaska State Fair, Inc. Fur Rendezvous (Anchorage, Alaska) DEW Line Radar defense networks Tropospheric scatter communication systems Fisheries—Alaska Fourth of July celebrations—Alaska Earthquakes—Alaska Alaska Earthquake, Alaska, 1964 Festivals—Alaska Totem poles—Alaska Roadhouses—Alaska Anchorage (Alaska) Aniak (Alaska) Barrow (Alaska) Bethel (Alaska) Big Delta (Alaska) Boundary (Alaska) Chitina (Alaska) Circle (Alaska) Cordova (Alaska) Delta Junction (Alaska) Eagle (Alaska) Eklutna (Alaska) Ester (Alaska) Eureka (Alaska) Fairbanks (Alaska) Fort Yukon (Alaska) Gulkana (Alaska) Gustavus (Alaska) Haines (Alaska) Hatcher Pass Region (Alaska) Homer (Alaska) Hoonah (Alaska) Hughes (Alaska) Juneau (Alaska) Kenai (Alaska) Kennecott Copper Mine (Alaska) Ketchikan (Alaska) Klawock (Alaska) Kodiak (Alaska) Kotzebue (Alaska) Matanuska River Valley (Alaska) McCarthy (Alaska) Metlakatla (Alaska) Meyers Chuck (Alaska) Nenana (Alaska) Ninilchik (Alaska) North Pole (Alaska) Northway (Alaska) Palmer (Alaska) Paxson (Alaska) Petersburg (Alaska) Platinum (Alaska) Port Moller (Alaska) Portage (Alaska) Prudhoe Bay (Alaska) Seldovia (Alaska) Sitka (Alaska) Talkeetna (Alaska) Tanacross (Alaska) Tanana (Alaska) Unalakleet (Alaska) Valdez (Alaska) Whittier (Alaska) Wrangell (Alaska) Yakutat (Alaska) Inside Passage Alaska Highway Glenn Highway (Alaska) Steese Highway (Alaska) Alaska—Description and travel Canada, Western—Description and travel Detailed Description of the Collection B1/B1 “Bill’s travelogue” [with accompanying typescript captions] The water highway to Alaska begins at Prince Rupert, BC, the end of highway 16 and the mouth of the Skeena River .1 – 1. Prince Rupert is a modern city with a major Canadian port [totem poles and automobiles outside Besner Block building] .2 – 2. The waterfront of Prince Rupert, southern terminus of the Alaska ferry [view of docks from ship deck] .3 – 3. Cars boarding the ferry [view from ship deck] .4 – 4. Sailing from the Prince Rupert dock (on the “Matanuska”) [view of dock from ship] .5 – 5. Underway north from Prince Rupert [passengers on deck] .6 – 6. Passing Canadian passenger vessel “Prince Robert” .7 – 7. Seagulls following the ship .8 – 8. Through the Inside Passage [scenic, American flag in foreground; print date Jun 66] .9 – 9. Ketchikan, the first city and port in Alaska [waterfront as seen from ship; print date Jun 66] .10 – 10. North from Ketchikan, passing sister ship “Malaspina” [print date Jun 66] .11 – 11. Wrangell at the mouth of the Stikine River [ferry dock and parking area as seen from ship; print date Jun 66] .12 – 12. Passing the sister ship “Taku” in Stephens Passage [print date Jun 66] .13 – 13. Entering Taku Inlet, with the Canadian steamer “Prince George” in view [print date Jun 66] .14 – 14. Entering Gastineau Channel and Juneau harbor [print date Jun 66] .15 – 15. Lifeboat drill in Juneau harbor [view from deck of two manned lifeboats in harbor; print date Jun 66. Cf. .1493 et seq.] .16 – 16. Sailing out of Juneau [waterfront as seen from ship; print date Jun 66] .17 – 17. North into Lynn Canal [print date Jun 66] .18 – 18. North in Lynn Canal [print date Jun 66] .19 – 19. Snow capped mountains in Lynn Canal [ship lifeboats in foreground; print date Jun 66] .20 – 20. Approaching Haines, Alaska (oil storage tanks of Canol Pipeline on the hill) [print date Jun 66] .21 – Haines dock, debark here to connect with the Alaska Highway [ferry dock as seen from ship; print date Jun 66] Alaska’s fishing is best described by this series of pictures of Petersburg .22 – 22. Petersburg, at the north end of the Wrangell Narrows [aerial of town; print date Jun 67] .23 – 23. The Alaska ferry docks at Petersburg daily (usually midnight) [distant view of ferry at dock; print date Jul 63] .24 – 24. Fishing fleet in Petersburg harbor [small boat harbor, KD building; print date Jul 63] .25 – 25. Halibut boats at the float [Kristine and Sea Lad at dock; print date Jul 63] .26 – 26. Unloading salmon from a seiner [bird’s eye view of crew on deck; print date Jul 63] .27 – 27. Grading salmon before processing [men on dock sorting fish; print date Jul 63] .28 – 28. Large halibut are hoisted for butchering [female workers cutting fish] .29 – 29. Beginning of the butchering [female workers cutting fish; print date Jul 63] .30 – 30. More of the filleting [print date Jul 63] .31 – 31. More of the same [print date Jul 63] .32 – 32. Mostly skeleton remains of a 30 lb. halibut [woman looking at camera has apron labeled “Gloria”; print date Jul 63] .33 – 33. Basket of live crab waiting to be cooked in live steam before picking [crab traps at right; print date Jul 67] .34 – 34. This is Ketchikan’s rain gauge on the Alaska Coastal dock .35 – 35. Planes of Alaska Coastal Airlines, a certificated carrier servicing the small towns and villages with amphibious craft. AK Airlines used little, not on main runs [several float planes at dock, including tail number N4772C; print date Jun 67] .36 – 36. A Coastal “Goose” has just unloaded cargo and is departing Duncan Canal [Grumman Goose amphibious airplane on gravel beach, storage tanks at right; print date Aug 66] .37 – 37. Down the beach ramp [Alaska Coastal Airlines Grumman Goose tail number N2751A; print date Aug 66] .38 – 38. Into the waters of Duncan Canal for take-off [Alaska Coastal Airlines Grumman Goose tail number N2751A; print date Aug 66] .39 – 39. Passing over the bays and inlets of S.E. Alaska [aerial; print date Aug 66] .40 – 40. And there’s the ferry “Taku” below in the Wrangell Narrows [aerial; print date Aug 66] .41 – 41. There are scattered canneries to pack the silver horde of salmon [aerial of cannery; print date Oct 66] .42 – 42.